Creedence Clearwater Revival, often referred to as CCR, was an American rock band that was active from 1967 to 1972. They were known for their distinctive blend of rock and roll, blues, country, and swamp rock, which created their unique sound.
The band consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, his brother Tom Fogerty on rhythm guitar, Stu Cook on bass guitar, and Doug Clifford on drums. CCR achieved great success during their relatively short career and became one of the most popular rock bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Creedence Clearwater Facts
1- CCR had five singles in America which peaked at number two
2- The band played their first UK shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London on April 1970
3- The song “Green River” was originaly titled “Green Tambourine,” but it was changed when (John) Fogerty learned that The Lemon Pipers already had a song by the same name.
4- Their musical style encompassed roots rock, swamp rock, and blues rock
5- CCR’s album Cosmo’s Factory hit #1 on Billboard 200 on August 22, 1970, and remained there for nine weeks
6- They performed at Woodstock at three in the morning, following the Grateful Dead.
7- The name Creedence Clearwater Revival means nothing as a phrase. The word ‘Creedence’ referred to someone called Credence Newball, who was a friend of Tom Fogerty. ‘Clearwater’ came from a TV commercial for Olympia Beer. And ‘Revival’ was a nod to the fact that the band returned in 1967 after a three year hiatus, due to the aforementioned military commitments. They almost settled for the name Creedence Nuball And The Ruby at one stage.
8- On November 16, 1969, they performed “Fortunate Son” and “Down on the Corner” on The Ed Sullivan Show
9- John Fogerty’s first band was called Johnny Corvette and the Corvettes. He was eight years old at the time, and his band was imaginary.
10-CCR bass player Stu Cook named his twin boys Creedence and Clearwater.
11- Starting in 1968, most of their songs were written, produced, arranged, and sung by John Fogerty.
12- They lost a Battle of the Bands competition once to the Count Five, who later had a hit with “Psychotic Reaction.”
13- They sold millions of records, but never had a #1 hit.
14- Rolling Stone ranked them 82nd on its Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list
15- Lead singer John Fogerty played the lead in the 2003 HBO movie, The Matthew McConaughey Story.
16- CCR were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1993, John Fogerty refused to play onstage with Cook and Clifford
17- When the band performed in Moscow in 1977 before 80,000 fans, they sang all of their songs in Russian.
18- Bruce Springsteen said: “Creedence wasn’t the hippest band in the world, but they were the best.”
19- In an NPR interview, Fogerty objected to what he regarded as a misuse of his music:
Folks will remember Forrest Gump and that was a great movie, but they don’t remember all the really poor movies that Fantasy Records stuck Creedence music into: car commercials, tire commercials. I’m remembering a paint thinner ad at one point, the song “Who’ll Stop the Rain”. Oh, boy. That’s clever, isn’t it?
Sources
https://www.loudersound.com/features/nine-obscure-creedence-facts
http://www.songfacts.com/facts-creedence_clearwater_revival.php
